Section 4: Signing for County Roads

Introduction

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) furnishes and installs advance county road name or number signs on the state highway system. The guidelines contained in this section are intended to provide statewide uniformity.

Eligible County Roads

The following considerations govern the decision to install county road signs on state highways:
  • the development of the 911 system and the importance of directing emergency vehicles
  • the adequacy of any existing signing at night
  • the need for directing non-local drivers.
Only county roads that have been officially assigned a name or route number by the commissioners court of a county qualify for signing.

Signing Standards

All signing for county roads on the state highway system use D-21 series signs for named county roads or D-20 signs for numbered roads. Both series use white legend on green background. The abbreviation for “county road” used on signs with road numbers is “CO RD.”
The recommended minimum letter size is six inches, except where circumstances restrict the overall size of the sign. Advance guide signs should be placed at least 200 feet in advance of the intersection. On major highways or for major county roads, larger letter size and increased advance distance from the county road should be considered. See (SHSD) for sign details for county road signs. See the
Traffic Engineering Standard Sheets
for sheeting, font, and substrate requirements for county road signs.

When Warning Signs are Used

At intersections with county roads where the W2 series intersection warning is used, the D21 series county road name or D20 series county road number sign may be used instead of the warning signs. Although the (TMUTCD) allows county road name signs to be mounted below the intersection warning signs, in order to be consistent, separate supports should be used if both warning and guide signs are installed for the same intersecting road.
If a county road name sign is to be mounted below a W2 series sign, it should follow the sign details for advance street name plaques, W16-8P or W16-8ap.

Signs Provided by County

Counties may provide county road name or number signs for placement similar to street names on top of supports of TxDOT maintained STOP and YIELD signs. Signs provided by the county for this purpose must:
  • meet the design requirements of the TMUTCD and SHSD
  • be of the quality materials approved by the district engineer (including sign blanks, reflectorization, and mounting hardware)

Existing Signs

All existing county road signing not in conformance with these guidelines may remain in place until the end of its service life. As existing signs are replaced, new signs will conform to established guidelines.